JPH0371325B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to chain links, and more particularly to chain links used in low backline pressure type chains.

When transporting items on a conveyor, the items often get stuck or accumulate on the conveyor. As the articles accumulate, they collide with each other, resulting in backline pressure. When the articles being conveyed on the conveyor are fragile, the force between the articles colliding with each other can cause damage, so a high backline pressure is undesirable. Backline pressure also places excessive loads on the conveyor and sprockets, causing sliding friction on the conveyor and promoting wear and tear.

Solutions to this problem have been proposed in the past, such as one in which a number of rollers are attached to the frame of the conveyor and these rollers are driven by a number of small belts. When backline pressure is generated, the roller slips and rotates against the shaft. However, this approach not only has a fairly complex structure, but also requires extensive maintenance to ensure proper operation of all the belts. Additionally, this arrangement is not self-cleaning, so if glass shards or other small particles fall between the rollers, the rollers will become stuck.

Another method of controlling backline pressure is to attach multiple sets of carriers to a roller chain. Each carrier has a slot in its upper surface for receiving a shaft, and each shaft has a respective roller attached thereto.

The present invention attempts to solve the above-mentioned backline pressure problem by attaching a plurality of shafts to a chain link and attaching a plurality of rollers to each shaft. Even if each shaft curves due to the weight of the articles applied to it, the multiple short-axis rollers on each shaft can easily follow the curvature of the shaft, and the short-axis rollers can continue to rotate freely without being pinched. . The short shaft roller can be easily cleaned, so even if dirt gets into the short shaft roller, it can be cleaned easily.

In accordance with some embodiments of the invention, the polymeric link unit is driven by a relatively wide-toothed sprocket, thereby evenly distributing the driving force over a wide range. In one embodiment, a chain is provided that can curve laterally around corners, thereby avoiding the restriction of only running in a straight line. Some embodiments also provide a polymeric link unit with a box-like structure, which box-like structure is designed to withstand high loads before bending. These embodiments also have novel means for attaching the shaft to the chain link, and in some cases include an intermediate support for the shaft that allows the use of smaller diameter shafts, thereby reducing the material Savings and reduced costs. Furthermore, the use of a small diameter shaft allows for a large ratio of the outer diameter to the inner diameter of the roller, which makes the roller more susceptible to slipping relative to the shaft. By providing two or more rows of rollers on each link unit, the conveying surface between the links is highly continuous, and since the weight of the article is spread over a number of rollers, the shaft-roller contact pressure is reduced. is low, resulting in a low wear rate.

A novel means for attaching a shaft to a polymeric link unit, as shown in some embodiments, includes an integral support member at each end of the link, each support member having an inner surface thereof. It has a recess and an inclined surface continuing from the top surface to the recess. With this configuration, the shafts are inserted by pressing down on each inclined surface, curving the respective support members away from each other, and snapping the shafts into the recesses. Instead of a hole extending through the support member, the concave recess forms a "blind hole", eliminating the problem of straight shafts slipping out of the support member opening, simplifying manufacturing and reducing assembly time. This reduces costs and improves assembly reliability.

According to another embodiment of the invention, a novel means is provided for attaching a shaft with rollers to a chain of butting links and hollow pin links. According to yet another embodiment of the present invention, a new type of non-driven conveyor is provided which is comprised of a plurality of chain links fixed at at least one point to the conveyor frame. This non-driven conveyor has the following advantages over conventional methods: This means that the chain can be easily replaced, and the conveyor path can be easily changed by simply moving the chain to a different position.

In some embodiments, the following points should be noted. That is, the outside diameter and outside-to-inside diameter ratio of each roller is within an optimum range to provide a relatively long, continuous conveying surface while still allowing the friction of the article against the chain to be such that the roller can rotate without difficulty. is set to

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

1-9 illustrate one link 12 according to the present invention.
It shows diagrams of the and its parts viewed from various directions. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of link 12, which has a flat base 20 with a top surface 22 and a bottom surface 24. FIG. First and second shaft support members 26 and 28 extend upward from the top surface of the flat base portion 20, integrally with the flat base portion 20. Each shaft support member 26, 28 is
It has a top surface 30, an inner surface 32 and an outer surface 34. The inner surface 32 is provided with means for attaching the shaft, the means being an inwardly open recess 3 in the form of a cylindrical recess, as shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 8.
Consists of 6. In the illustrated embodiment, each shaft support member 26, 28 has three cylindrical recesses 36 in its respective inner surface 32. By providing three recesses 36 in each of the shaft support members 26, 28, three shafts are attached to each link 12, which provides greater continuity than would be possible with only one shaft per link. A high conveying surface is obtained.

The shaft support members 26, 28 further include a sloped surface (or resilient stop) 38 extending from the top surface 30 thereof into each cylindrical recess 36. The outer surfaces 34 of the shaft support members 26, 28 are smooth and coplanar with the end face of the flat base portion 20, and there are no through holes or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, a wide conveyor is obtained by running two chains of multiple links 12 side by side through this smooth, coplanar outer surface. A small hole having a smaller diameter than the end of the shaft 46 may be provided in the recess 36. However, in this case as well, the recess forms a blind hole for holding the shaft and provides a smooth outer surface, allowing the two chains to run side by side.

The shaft support members 26, 28 each have an undercut 40 formed in the inner surface 32 thereof which contacts the flat base portion 20. The undercut 40 is also clearly shown in FIG. A flat base portion 20 at a substantially central position between the first and second shaft support members 26 and 28
An intermediate support body 42 projects upward from the top surface 22 of. Slot-like recesses 44 are formed in the top surface of the intermediate support 42, each for receiving and supporting a shaft. Each shaft 46 has a cylindrical recess 36 in the first and second shaft support members 26, 28.
It can be installed inside as follows. That is, one end of each shaft 46 is attached to the first shaft support member 26, and the other end is attached to the second shaft support member 28. At the same time, each shaft 46 is pushed into a slot-like recess 44 in the intermediate support 42. Of course, two or more intermediate supports 42 may be provided on the link 12. The presence of the intermediate support 42 means that the diameter of the shaft 46 can be reduced and still support the same weight as a larger diameter shaft without the intermediate support. Preferably, the shaft 46 does not rotate with respect to the cylindrical recess 36, and as shown in FIG. 9, one or both ends of the shaft 46 are knurled to prevent relative rotation.

Each shaft 46 has a plurality of rollers 4.
8 is attached. Since the inner diameter of roller 48 is somewhat larger than the outer diameter of shaft 46, roller 48 is free to rotate relative to shaft 46. Because the length of each roller 48 is short, the rollers 48 are less likely to get stuck on the shaft 46 due to bowing or warping of the shaft 46 than if the rollers 48 were longer, and any debris that could cause the rollers to get stuck on the shaft is less likely to occur. Can be cleaned and removed. A desirable length of the roller 48 is 0.5 to 1.0 times the outer diameter of the roller. The reason for limiting the range in this way is that if the ratio of length to outer diameter is larger than this, the rollers are likely to stick to the shaft due to curvature, etc., but if it is smaller than that, the number of rollers will be too large, making it difficult to manufacture and assemble. This is also because it is unfavorable in terms of cost. If the length of the rollers is too short, the number of rollers to be attached to each shaft will increase, increasing the cost of manufacturing and assembling the rollers to the shaft, while if the rollers are too long, it will be difficult to clean dirt and the rollers will be damaged. Sticking to the shaft is likely to occur. Further, in order to prevent small articles from falling over on the chain, it is preferable to make the outer diameter of the rollers 48 as small as possible and to make the amount of discontinuity between the rollers small. On the other hand, however, the ratio of the outer diameter to the inner diameter of the rollers must be such that the friction between the article to be conveyed and the roller on which the article rests is sufficient to cause the roller to rotate. The optimal ratio of roller outer diameter to inner diameter is
Furthermore, the outer diameter of the rollers giving optimum continuity to the conveying surface ranges from approximately 2.3 to 5.
It ranges from 1.016 to 1.524 cm (0.4 to 0.6 inch).

The rollers 48 are not closely spaced from one another, and each roller 48 is movable axially a small distance along the shaft 46 to facilitate cleaning and reduce the amount of friction applied to that roller from adjacent rollers. is configured to reduce Also, since each roller 48 has a small diameter hub 49, adjacent rollers 48
8 abut against each other, both rollers come into contact over a relatively small area and within a short distance from the centerline of the shaft. The fact that the contact area is small and the range in which the contact occurs is a short distance from the shaft centerline has the following advantages. That is, the friction between the moving roller and the fixed roller is reduced, which allows the roller to move freely. Although the illustrated hub 49 is integrally molded as part of the roller 48, it may alternatively be constructed as a separate member. When two articles are carried on the same link 12, it is particularly important that the number of short axis rollers is large and the friction between the rollers is low. In this way, both articles are supported by different groups of rollers 48, and the rollers are separated and have low friction, so that the movement of one article does not interfere with the movement of the other article. Never.

Since the top surface of each shaft support member 26, 28 is formed in a sinusoidal curve shape to match the shape of the roller 48, the articles carried by the link 12 are not rubbed by the shaft support members 26, 28. Can move sideways across links. Similarly, the top surface of intermediate support 42 conforms to the shape of roller 48, except that a slot-like recess 44 is formed therein. The lateral movement of the articles carried on the links 12 is therefore not hindered by the intermediate supports 42 either.

As is clear from FIG. 7 showing the bottom surface 24 of the flat base portion 20, a plurality of barrel portions (or eyeball portions) 50 are formed integrally protruding from the bottom surface 24 of the flat base portion 20. has been done. Three barrel parts 50 are provided on one side, and two barrel parts 50 are provided on the other side. In order to form a chain, the two barrel parts 50 located on one side of one link 12 are
The pins 52 are fitted into the spaces between the three barrel parts 50 located on the other side of the adjacent links 12, and are inserted through all five barrel parts. The number of barrel parts is not limited to this embodiment, and can be changed arbitrarily without exceeding the scope of the present invention.

As shown in the drawings seen above, the flat base portion 20, the barrel portion 50, the first and second shaft support members 26, 28, and the intermediate support member 42
consists of an all-in-one polymer molding. Shaft 46 is made of metal and roller 48 is made of polymer. The materials listed above are preferred for each part, but other materials may of course be used.

When assembling the link 12, first install the roller 48.
slip fit onto the shaft 46. Next, both ends of the shaft 46 are placed onto corresponding inclined surfaces 38 of the first and second shaft support members 26, 28, respectively. The shaft 46 is pushed down along the inclined surface 38, and the first and second shaft support members 26, 28 are gradually pushed apart in a direction that separates them from each other. The undercuts 40 formed in the inner surfaces 32 of each shaft support member 26,28 provide the shaft support members 26,28 with greater flexibility relative to the flat base portion 20. However, testing has shown that in many cases undercut 40 is not necessary because the bending in base portion 20 provides most of the bending that forces shaft support members 26, 28 apart from each other. By being pushed down, the shaft 46 slides along the inclined surface 38 until it reaches the cylindrical recess 36, at which point the first and second shaft support members 26, 28 return to their initial positions. As a result, the shaft 46 is locked by the shaft support members 26,28.

FIG. 2 shows a conveyor 10 made up of two chains 11 placed side by side, each chain 11 being made up of a number of links 12. Instead of two chains, one or three or more chains 11 can also be used. The articles 14 are carried on a conveyor 10 which is driven by a relatively wide toothed sprocket 16. The bottom surface 24 of the flat base portion 20 is then placed on a support rail (not shown). When the articles 14 start to accumulate due to some obstacle or for some reason,
Because the rollers 48 of a link 12 rotate relative to that link 12, the amount of pressure exerted by one article 14 on another is minimized. The chain 11 also has the feature of being self-cleanable.
In other words, while the article 14 is being transported, the link 12
The glass shards and the like that have accumulated upward fall from the link 12 while the link passes through the sprocket 16, becomes lower, and travels back.

Figures 10-14 show links for low backline pressure chains that are similar to link 12 described above but are laterally bendable. link 60
consists of a flat base portion 62 with a top surface 64 and a bottom surface 66, respectively. Projecting upwardly from the top surface 64 are first and second shaft support members 68, 70. Each shaft support member 68, 70 has three shaft attachment means 72, which are comprised of the same cylindrical recesses and ramps as in the embodiment described above. The illustrated attachment means 72 may be replaced by other shaft attachment means, such as a combination of a simple hole and a tapered shaft, but the illustrated means are preferred. Both ends of each shaft 74 are connected to the first and second ends, respectively.
By attaching the supporting members 68 and 70 to the shaft attaching means 72, a total of three shafts 74 are attached to one link 60. As mentioned above, at least one end of each shaft is knurled. Further, a large number of rollers 75 are rotatably attached to each shaft 74.

A plurality of barrel sections 76, 78 protrude from the bottom surface 66 of the flat base section 62, each barrel section being sized so that the central barrel section 78 of one link fits between the outer barrel sections 76 of an adjacent link. A pin is pushed through a total of three barrel parts, thereby fixing both links to each other. As shown in FIG. 14, the aperture 82 passing through the central barrel portion 78 is widened, and the two links 60 are laterally curved with respect to each other via pins 80 that are movable with respect to the aperture 82. It is possible. The aperture 82 has an oval cross section, or has a shape in which the diameter is small at the center and becomes large toward both ends. Also, since the apertures 84 in both barrel portions 76 have a generally D-shaped cross section, and the pin 80 has a corresponding D-shaped cross section, the pin 80 does not rotate within the apertures 84. A tab 86 protrudes laterally from the lower part of the barrel portions 76, 78, and the tab 86
It is fitted under the support rail 88 shown in FIG. The bottom surface 66 of the base portion 62 rests on the top of the support rail 88 and the tabs 86 fit onto the underside of the support rail so that the chain is held in place on the conveyor and the chain is It prevents it from floating up.

FIG. 15 is a diagram schematically showing the direction in which a chain 90 made up of a large number of links 60 curves along a corner. This chain 90 has the following advantages that were not initially anticipated. That is, articles accumulated on chain 90 tend to follow chain 90 even when going around corners. This provides less resistance to the movement of the article along the direction in which the rollers 75 rotate;
Due to the fact that the resistance to movement of the article along the lateral direction across 5 is greater, the article follows the curve of the chain. Guide rails may need to be provided as a safety measure to prevent items from slipping out of the chain when going around corners. However, due to the above-mentioned follow-up characteristics, it may not be necessary to provide a guide rail.
Even when a guide rail is used, the contact between the article carried on the chain and the guide rail is significantly reduced, so that the article and the label attached thereto can be protected.

FIG. 16 schematically shows an example in which the chain 90 is applied to a non-driven conveyor 92. The conveyor 92 is comprised of a frame consisting of a pair of support rails 88 and a chain 90 secured to the conveyor frame by pins 94. In this embodiment, since the conveyor 92 conveys articles along a curved path, a side-curved, low back line pressure type chain 90 is used, but in the case of a straight path, the other chains described above may be used. It will be done. Further, the side curved chain 90 can be configured in various shapes other than the above, such as a helical shape, for example. The use of low backline pressure chains in non-driven conveyors has the following advantages over rollers mounted to the conveyor frame: First, pull out pin 94 and connect chain 90.
The chain can be easily replaced by simply removing the chain and inserting another chain, making it possible to accept articles of various sizes to be conveyed. Second, the path of the conveyor 90 can be easily moved by simply providing a support rail (or another member supporting the chain) in a different direction and running the chain 90 over the support rail, allowing it to be moved at different points. Articles can be removed from conveyor 90.

17 and 18 illustrate a chain 100 according to another embodiment of the invention. Like the two embodiments described above, chain 100 includes a flat base 102 with a top surface 104 and a bottom surface 106 from which first and second shaft support members 108, 110 extend upwardly. It is extending. Each shaft support member 108, 110 has a shaft attachment means similar to that of the previous embodiment. The shaft 112 is the first and second shaft support member 1
08, 110 and is attached to the shaft attachment means. Further, a plurality of rollers 114 are rotatably attached to each shaft 112. Two legs 116 extend downward from the base bottom surface 106, and each leg 116 has two legs.
It has 118 eyes. Eye 11 of one leg 116
The eyes 118 of 8 and the other leg 116 are aligned with each other. When the chain is made to be bendable laterally, each leg 1
16 is provided with a tab. Each leg 116 of the top plate is mounted on a series of chains 120 comprising bushing links 122 and pin links 124 each interconnected by a chain pin 126. The series of chains 120 may be either straight-running or laterally bent. At this time, each leg 116 is attached to a pin link 124, and a chain pin 126 passing through the pin link 124 extends through the eye 118, thereby fixing the leg 116.

Next, a method for assembling the chain will be explained.
First, connect a series of chains 120 using pins 126.
Assemble. Next, push the top plate down towards the series of chains 120 and pin 126.
is brought into contact with the sloped portion 128 of the leg 116. Next, when the base part 102 is gradually pushed down, the pin 126 acting on the inclined part 128 moves both legs 1.
16 in the direction of separating them from each other, and the pins 12
6 reaches number 118. When the pins 126 engage the eyes 118, the legs 116 snap back into position, thereby securing the base portion 102 onto the series of chains 120. At this time, both legs 11
Most of the curvature that expands the base portion 102
occurs in After that, a predetermined number of rollers 114 are attached to the shaft 112, and each shaft 112
is the shaft support member 1 as described in the above embodiment.
Both ends are inserted into 08 and 110. Once the shaft 112 is in place, the assembly is more rigid so that the base 102 is less likely to bend and the legs 116 are less likely to splay. As a result, the tendency of the base portion 102 to tighten to the pin link 124 becomes stronger.

The present invention improves the outer diameter to inner diameter ratio of each roller from 2.3 to
By limiting the range to 5, the rollers do not rotate during normal conveyance and a predetermined contact pressure can be obtained between the article and the rollers, while during times of accumulation, etc., the rollers rotate and the conveyor moves. This makes it possible to

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to several embodiments, it is obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications and combinations can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 is a perspective view of a link according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conveyor using two side-by-side chains consisting of the links shown in FIG. 1; and FIG. Side view of the chain consisting of the fourth
The figure is an enlarged cutaway sectional view taken along line 4-4 in Figure 5, showing the intermediate support, Figure 5 is a plan view of the link shown in Figure 1, and Figure 6 is shown in Figure 1. 7 is a bottom view of the link shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line 8-8 in FIG. 5, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the link shown in FIG. 10 is a plan view of the side curved link according to the present invention, FIG. 11 is a front view of the link shown in FIG. 10 including the support rail, and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view showing the end of the link shown in FIG. 10 is a side view of the link shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 13 is a bottom view of the chain consisting of the two links shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 14 is a broken bottom view of the chain shown in FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view of the chain shown in FIG. 13 as it turns around a corner, FIG. 16 is a schematic perspective view of a conveyor using the chain shown in FIG. 13, and FIG. Figure 18 is a side view of another embodiment of the invention showing the polymer links, including rollers, snapped onto a series of chains; Figure 18 is a front view of the chain shown in Figure 17; be. (Explanation of symbols), 10... Conveyor, 11, 9
0,100,120...Chain, 12,60...
... Link, 14 ... Article, 16 ... Sprocket, 20, 62, 102 ... Base part, 22, 6
4,104...Top surface, 24,66,106...Bottom surface, 26,68,108...First shaft support member, 28,70,110...Second shaft support member, 30...Top surface, 32 ...Inner surface, 34...
Outer surface, 36... Recess, 38... Inclined surface (elastic stopper piece), 40... Undercut, 42... Intermediate support, 44... Slot-shaped recess, 46,7
4,112...Shaft, 48,75,114...
...Roller, 49...Hub, 50...Barrel part (eye part), 52, 80, 94, 126...Pin, 7
2...Shaft attachment means, 76...Both barrel parts (eyeball part), 78...Central barrel part (eyeball part), 8
2, 84...Opening hole, 86...Tab, 88...Support rail, 92...Non-driven conveyor, 116...
Legs (eyeballs), 118... eyes, 122... butsing links, 124... pin links, 128...
slope of the leg.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A base portion having a top surface and a bottom surface; a second portion extending upwardly from the top surface of the base portion, spaced apart transversely to the direction of movement of the chain link, and including shaft attachment means; 1 and a second shaft support member; a plurality of shafts extending between the first and second shaft support members and having ends attached to the shaft attachment means of each shaft support member; each of the shafts being rotatable; attached to
a plurality of rollers forming a uniform continuous surface for supporting articles supported by the chain links; and extending downwardly from the bottom surface of the base portion and at least partially defining a central hole for receiving a chain pin. a plurality of barrel portions having: a ratio of an outer diameter to an inner diameter of the roller is in a range of 2.3 to 5, and a ratio of a length to an outer diameter of the roller is 0.5;
A chain link characterized by being in the range ~1.0. 2. Each of the above rollers is equipped with a hub having a diameter smaller than the diameter of the roller, so that when two adjacent rollers come into contact with each other, the contact area is smaller than when there is no hub. The chain link according to claim 1, characterized in that: 3 The outer diameter of the above roller is 1.016~1.524cm (0.4~1.524cm)
0.6 inches). 4 The outer diameter of the above roller is 1.016 to 1.524 cm (0.4 to
2. The chain link of claim 1, wherein the ratio of the outer diameter to the inner diameter of the rollers is in the range of 2.3 to 5. 5. A chain link according to claim 1, wherein the shaft attachment means comprises a recess formed in the inner surface of each shaft support member for receiving the shaft end. 6. The chain link according to claim 5, wherein the recess is a cylindrical recess and includes an inclined surface extending from the top surface of the shaft support member to the cylindrical recess. 7. The top surface of each of the shaft support members matches the shape of the roller, and the article carried by the link can smoothly move across the link without getting caught on the support member. A chain link according to claim 1. 8. Claim 7, wherein each of the shaft support members has a plurality of recesses, and a corresponding plurality of shafts extend between the first and second shaft support members. Chain link described in. 9 Between the first and second shaft support members,
an intermediate support extending upwardly from the top surface of the base portion, the intermediate support having a slot-like recess on the top surface for receiving and supporting the shaft; Claim 1, characterized in that the top surface corresponds to the shape of the roller, so that articles carried on the link can be moved across the link without getting caught on the intermediate support. Chain links as described in section. 10 A patent characterized in that the first and second shaft support members have undercuts on their inner surfaces closest to the flat base, allowing the shaft support members to be largely curved with respect to the flat base. Chain link according to claim 9. 11. According to claim 1, at least one of the barrel portions has an enlarged opening, and the link can be bent laterally when attached to the chain. chain link. 12 A patent characterized in that the barrel part has a tab protruding laterally from the barrel portion, and the tab is fitted under the conveyor guide rail to hold the chain link on the conveyor guide rail. Chain link according to claim 3. 13. A chain link according to claim 1, wherein the shaft has a knurled outer surface at one end thereof to prevent rotation of the shaft. 14. The barrel portion has two spaced apart legs projecting downwardly from the bottom surface of the base portion, each of the legs being aligned with a corresponding aperture in the other leg. A chain link according to claim 1, having apertures, each pair of corresponding apertures receiving a chain pin.